PUBLIC OPINION

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7871, 5 August 1911, Page 7

PUBLIC OPINION

VIEWS OP CORRESPONDENTS ASSOCIATION POOTBALL S (To the Editor "N.Z. Times.”) Sir,—The information (if it can be called such), which the secretary of the t Brooklyn Oirvb has supplied in answer to □ my letter of protest, instead of satdsfac- , torily explaining the matter, only tends >' to aggravate! it. If the practice which i o protested against, and which Mr Ecr--0 prison admits, has taken place, and has, according to him. received the sanction of s the association, is allowed to continue, it y moans that in all caeca such as the present one, instead of a team being 1 rendered weaker by some of their players 0 leaving, it only servos to make them stronger. I would like to ask Mr Ferguson what his team would have done had the * fourth grade competition not yet been - oomplctcd? ‘Would they have withdrawn from tho competition, as he would have ns believe? No, they would not, but they would have drawn from their lower grade loam, which I ftill contend would have beou more sportsmanlike, and also more encouraging’ to deserving players in their own club seeking promotion. Mr Ferguson says if 1 had approached him at the Basin Reserve last Saturday I could have got all tho information I wanted - from him, but as I do not know him I , could not very well do that. Hy purpose is to make public a most unfair 1 ‘practice, such ae the Brooklyn team have I committed, and I contend the association ' shoirid have made them draw on their . lower loam. 3n conclusion, I would like : to add that I have no connection, in any [ way with the Y.M.C.A. team.—l am, etc., } 4 SPORT, i August 4th. CALAMITY IN AUCKLAND i r r (To the Editor "N.Z. Times.'’) . Sir,—Tt was with great regret I noticed m your columns this morning that the defence scheme is going to have such a disastrous effect in Auckland as to interfere with “the eport of the people." It is a pity anything of so little importance a a the defence of our hearths and homes from violation by an enemy, white, brown, yellow, or black, should curtail the Liberty of the lazy loafer who, too lazy himself oven to play, spends Ms Saturday afternoons barracking at football matches. It would bo well if the Government brought in an amending Bill to exempt Auckland and district (tho 110.000 people wo heard of so much at census time) from tho operation of tho Re fence Act. Such an amendment would do uo harm, for we could send up our Wellington boys to keep I inviolate the Auckland homes, and drive out an enemy from the Queen City of the north. It would not cost much—and expense is no object in war time —to run a lew trains up the Main Trunk with southern troops for the defenco of Auckland, and it would bo bettor that the Dominion should bear this expense than that the revenues of the Auckland sports bodies should suffer in the interests of such a hobby as defence.—l am, etc., SIC TRANSIT. August 4th.

TRAMWAYS REGULATION fTo tho "Editor **N£. Times.'*) Sir,-—lf all the tramway systems are managed like the Wellington one they require a good deal of regulation. Tho City Council which manages our tramways is not fit for tho job. UJ They construct so-called “palaoo” cars (what there is “palatial” about them I havo never been able to discover) with seats 65J’inches loilg, and havo the audacity to post up legends in tho cars to the effect that those seats are made to accommodate five persons; that is, 123 inches for eaoh person. Those same cars have scats on the roof 27J inches long, and tho management expect two persons to sit ou each sefft. (2) On tho Island Bay route they arrange for a stopping place at the Newtown school and another stopping place thirty yards further on. (3) They provide tho same car service between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. as between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., when probably tho number of passengers requiring t conveyance dating tho former period is twioe or throe times as great as during any two hours erf the latter period, (4) They construct “palace” cars which aro monstrosities. Those cars are accident traps for women and children, elderly men, and conductors. The steps are half as high again as they should be. No conductor should bo ashed to walk along, or collect fares, standing on a narrow ledge seven or eight inches wide on tho outside of the car. Passengers crowd into compartments which are full when other compartments of the same car aro not full, because tho floor of the car being so high, one cannot see tho interior of tho cars from the level of the road, (5) Thirty per cent, more cars are i required. The remedy for overcrowding is not to prevent people crowding into cars that are already full, but to provide a sufficiency of cars. Pew persons would be so foolish a-s to use a crowded car if there were others available less crowded. (6) Anomalies in fares;—A passenger can ride half a mile past the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel on a Courtenay Piaoe car without extra payment, but if ho rides ten yards past the same spot on an Aro street car ho has to pay an additional penny. A similar absurdity exists cn tho Wallace street route after passing Manners street. Some of the cntica of the Minister of Public Works refer to tho mismanagement of the railways by tho Government. No donUT much of this criticism is merited, but I fail to see how that fact makes the council's management any less an evil. I believe, sir, tho Government is deserving of every encouragement in its efforts towards procuring a better tramways service for the travelling public.—l am, etc., TRAVELLER. Island Bay, August 4fch.

“ TITLES PREVENTION ” (To the Editor "N.Z. Times.”) Sir, —I have not seen ' the text of the "Hereditary Titles Prevention Bill" sponsored by Mr E. Newman, but if ita title explains the Bill, surely it is an unconstitutional measure for more than one reason. First, it would seem to be an encroachment upon the Royal prerogative of being the "fountain of Honour." The Sovereign, and ho alone, can create peers or confer titles of any sort, hereditary or not; consequently, any attempt to cnrtail or destroy the Sovereign’s power hero is a direct encroachment upon the Royal prerogative. Secondly, this Bill, judging only by its short title, would prevent the Sovereign from summoning any person he 4 chose to Parliament ,to assist in its deliberations as a peer of the Realm. This power of the Sovereign to make a subject a peer with a seat in Parliament, is obviously of the highest constitutional importance—as was never more clearly seen than at this very time in England. Should this Bill bo enacted by the New Zealand Parliament the Crown Law officers in England -would surely advise the Sovereign to withhold his consent to it. Of course, a say nothing as to the merits or demerits of hereditary titles in this democratic 'bountry. Hereditary titles they are merely, and do not here, as at Home, carry hfleditary privileges and powers. The question I.raise Is as to the legality coiifititationaUy of this Bill. But one point—let us hope a purely academic point—occurs to me. Suppose a peer of tho Realm were to commit a crimebigamy. for instance —in New Zealand, how would ho be tried? He is entitled to trial by hie peers, which in practice means tho House of Lords—a tribunal difficult to up in New Zealand. By the way, as regards Mr Newman's Bill, I heard two keen politicians msoussing it today, and one man said he thought it was a joke on the part of Mr Newman. But the other said he had met Mr Newman, and scouted the ba.ro suggestion of that gentleman ever making a joke. But, Is that the explanation? Nous vorrons—l am, etc., JOHN DOB.

August 2nd. CTcs, it Is. The. Bill will uerer be produced by Mr Newman. —EcL, “N.Z.T.”]

is connected with the tnrf that there vs ucod foi reform in this respect. I need oipy quote tho remarks that were made by Sir ireur?* Clift ord, the Hon. J. D. Ormond, and ocher prominent delegatee at tho 1 tst meeting ol the .Racing Conference when they strongly advocated stipendiary stewards, but uniortuuately were defeated. Had the opponents of stipendiary stewards abandoned the business element In the management of certain clubs, and allowed the love of pur© sport to enter their minds, tho stipendiary steward would now be iu vogue, and Mr McLachiau alter a while i would no doubt have some reason to boast l of clean sport livery prominent New Zealander connected with tho turf that has vUitod Australia during tho last few years has returned a strong advocate ol the stipendiary stewards. 1 need only refer to tho interview with, Mr Prank McMaueman, Auckland’s leading trainer, which appeared in last Saturday’s ’New Zealand Times," He strongly advocates the stipendiary steward. The honest owner, trainer, and jockey haves nothing to lear from tho stipendiary. In addition to 6tii>enuiary stewards to improve the tone of the turf, I claim it is about time the police departmeat woke up to the fact that there is a Gaming Act which fdates that bookmaking is illegal, and that no money is to be rung on the totalizator alter three minutes before the starting time of any race. Bookmakers are siin rampant, and it is a common thing to see numbers rung on horses after the racc-a are started at quite ,a number of the meetings. At on© meeting not very long ' ago over i,200 wca rung on the winner aitor he had passed tho winning post, and there was a hostile demonstration by the crowd.—l am, etc., REFORM. August 4th.